The family of a man with autism has expressed their relief after their son was released from a psychiatric hospital four years after he was first detained. 

Elliot Dodds, 27, of North Yorkshire, was the first detained in an assessment and treatment unit (ATU) when his mental health deteriorated in April 2018. 

During his time in hospital, Elliot has spent significant time in isolation which Beckii said was causing her brother’s physical and mental health to deteriorate, but his family had to fight for four years to get him back home.

Originally, ATU units are designed to be short-term placements for inpatients to stay while an assessment is carried out to decide if a person has a mental health problem, and what help they may require.

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Beckii Davis, Mr Dodd's sister, said: "When Elliot was admitted to hospital we hoped he’d receive the help he needed and would be home within a few weeks. Never did we think this would turn into a four-year battle.

“The last few years have been incredibly difficult for everyone but particularly Elliot. Seeing him in hospital, locked away from the world and how he was deteriorating was traumatic.

"While he has complex needs nobody deserves to be treated in that way. He had no quality of life whatsoever.”

The Northern Echo: Elliot Dodds and his sister Beckii Elliot Dodds and his sister Beckii (Image: Beckii Dodds)

But Mr Dodds remained on the unit with restrictions on his liberty, until 24 August of this year, when he was released from formal detention to his own home, with the support of his carers. 

Beckii had to fight for her brother's release with the help of specialist human rights lawyers. 

Kirsty Stuart, a lawyer from Irwin Mitchell, helped to secure a bespoke community care package for Elliot. 

She said: "What happened to Elliot has been incredibly upsetting, not only for him but also his family.

"Sadly it’s also symptomatic of the other first-hand accounts we continue to hear from families whose loved ones are detained in these units."

"We once again call on the authorities to do more to reduce the numbers of autistic people detained."

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Currently, statistics from NHS Digital show that over 2,000 people with autism and/or learning disabilities were detained in units, with 56 per cent of these having a total length stay of over two years. 

This is despite previous government pledges to reduce the number of people with disabilities being detained in the units following the Winterbourne View scandal.

The average cost to the taxpayer of keeping a person detained in hospital is thought to be £3,563 per week or £185,276 per year.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We are taking action to improve access to community-based support for people with a learning disability and autistic people, supported by additional targeted funding of more than £90 million by 2023.

"This will help us reach our target to halve the number of people with a learning disability and people with autism being treated as inpatients by March 2024."

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